In the 1920s the young port city of Gdynia in northern Poland was established less than a century ago out of necessity according to modernist principles.

In stark contrast to most other Polish cities, whose histories extend centuries or even millennia, Gdynia has developed an image and sense of identity closely associated with its modernist origins which has come to equate to a clean, efficient and, most intriguingly, happy city. This study is an investigation of the relationship – real and / or imagined – between modernism and happiness in the context of Gdynia historically and contemporarily, where the city’s identity is based on it being Poland’s ‘Happy City’.